Felix Zieger

How new SaaS platform categories are born

💫Spoiler: It's like for galaxies but instead of gravity forming stars out of dust and gas, people come up with new processes until friction is so high that the techno-capital machine spurts out new SaaS platforms that end up forming a category. I'll take the platform

technology Featured

AI replaces SaaS platforms with tools

AI made natural language, pictures, audio, and video suddenly an open protocol for machines. Thus many problems that were previously only solvable via coordination are now solvable for individuals.

Leaving meshcloud to start my own business

Tomorrow will be my last day at meshcloud. Packing up after over 4 years to start my own venture comes with many emotions. Pride, sadness, anxiety, certainty There is pride in what we achieved at meshcloud and the part I played in it. This overcame me a lot when I

hiking

I hiked 100km in 18h 57min

This weekend I did a 100k hike. Of all the things I set out for myself, this one was my biggest physical challenge so far. Why I signed up for the hike Before I describe the hike, let me start with the backstory of how I got into it. I

sailing

We made it to Töre!

Yesterday morning, after 9 days, 20 hours, and 17 minutes we arrived in Töre, the most northern point you can sail to in the Baltic Sea. It took us 950.5 nautical miles through Danish, Finnish and Swedish waters. What a journey! Arriving in the small harbor with the other

sailing

First 4 days of Midsummer Sail

The regatta started on Thursday at 13:15 for us. Since then we have traveled over 380 nautical miles and are now next to Gotland. After the historical wooden boat in Wismar fired the cannon as starting signal for our group, we made our way up north, creeping against a

sailing

Midsummer Sail prep including our shopping list for 10 days at sea

My first regatta, Midsummer Sail 2024 is getting closer and closer. The start date is midsummer - 21st of June - but I actually leave for Flensburg in two days already, since we have to prepare the boat and bring it to Wismar, where the regatta starts. I feel well

Why polishing slides provides value

After uni I worked in management consulting for two years. And true to the stereotype about consulting, I spent a lot of time building slide decks back then. Fresh out of uni, it took me a bit of time to figure out why things work the way they do. Specifically

Balancing agility with confidence in your ability to figure out actually known problems

While reading an article about design docs at google I came across the following bit: Most software projects do have a set of actually known problems. Subscribing to agile methodologies is not an excuse for not taking the time to get solutions to actually known problems right. Additionally, prototyping itself

Dancing through life

In "The Big Five for Life" the character Thomas advocates for everyone he works with to know their reason for existence and to strive to reach their big five for life. The big five for life from the book are often concrete experiences people want to make -

Optimizing for conditions that are rarely observed

After I wrote about my fascination about well made tools, I noticed that there is a special case of this. I am fascinated by things that are focused on optimizing for conditions that are rarely observed. Those are the conditions where it's very apparent how valuable it is

Well made tools

There is something to well made tools. I am deeply fascinated by them and find it very satisfying to figure out why they are build the way they are. The first time I formulated this clearly, must have been when I was in my teens. I had a fairly basic

book-review

A Voyage For Mad Men

I finished reading A Voyage For Mad Men by Peter Nichols. I liked the book so much, that I wanted to share a few words about it. The book tells the story of the first single handed, non-stop around the world sailors in 1968. The newspaper Sunday Times announced a

sailing

MidsummerSail Regatta in 2024

I went sailing for the first time last year. I loved it and have been thinking about a longer sailing trup on and off since then. However, I didn't go sailing this year and also didn't plan for anything for 2024 either. Luckily, my cousin Steffen

My notes are now available online

I announced in Experiments in note taking that I plan to publish my notes. Today I've gotten around to do that. Head over to https://notes.felixzieger.de if you want to have a look. Tip: There is a graph view, with one node per note and one

Fear of making bad trades

This started as a book review of "Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridley and then turned into a personal note about a fear of being taken advantage off. The main thesis of the book are: * Specialized production and diversified consumption lead to wealth * Trade is necessary for specialization (trade

Experiments in note taking

I have started taking notes more diligently over the past month after exploring Andy Matuschak's public notes. Since then I got more aware of how limiting I now find the blog post format I have published so far (mixed travel reports, book reviews and random thoughts) is. Blog

bike travel

Repairing my broken back wheel

I returned from my Istanbul cycling trip over 6 months ago. I had troubles with my back wheel since Bulgaria, where I first went to a mechanic. Since that only helped for a few days, I saw another mechanic in Greece. Both told me I'd have to exchange

Dreams made of thoughts

I started a meditation practice a while ago. Since then I have been getting more and more aware of just how chatty my mind is. The times I am very presence without engaging with thoughts – when riding my motorcycle or in a challenging situation of a skitour – are very rare.

skiing

Großglockner Ski Tour

Las weekend friends and I visited Austria for another two day ski tour. This time the destination was a lot more ambitions than last time. We headed for Großglockner. I was nervous weeks and days before we started. Because while I am confident in my physical abilities, I only did

My first motorcycle

I recently bought a used Royal Enfield Himalayan (2017 model with 7000km). The bike weighs 180kg which is light compared to other motorcycles.The low weight makes it easy to handle in rest and when maneuvering around at intersections. The bike rides very smoothly until 70km/h or 80km/h.

book-review

Mafia Strategies

Ever since I read "Five Families" I have been fascinated by organized crime. The book opened my eye to the existence of powerful forces that have an impact on peoples lives and the continued fight between governments and criminal enterprises. I have read the book a long time

book-review

Thoughts on meditation after six weeks

At the end of last year I spent more time thinking about what has intrinsic value to me. I identified human consciousness, life, and technological progress as the main elements. And because I felt like I was not acting on my values enough, I decided to pick up a meditation

bike travel

Sailing is a bit like cycling and a bit like RVing

Last year I spent two months on my bicycle. The journey made me think about how cycling is similar and different from other forms of traveling. Being on the bike means * there is no shield between me and my surroundings. Wind, rain, sun, heat, cold, shaky roads, smooth roads -

skiing

My first Ski Tour

Two weeks ago, I went on a ski tour with two good friends. The trip was over a weekend. We drove to Innsbruck on Friday morning and spent the night there. The tour was from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon. It started on Lager Walchen. We went 600 meters up